When you receive an attachment via email or a floppy on a disk or any file that comes your way and you are not sure of how to use it, first check the suffix of the filename. The suffix consists of the last 3 or 4 digits:

syllabus_1.doc

index.html

cats.jpg

Follwing is a list of suffixes to check for if you receive a file and you are not sure what it is or how it is used. If you have suggestions for additional files to add to the list, please let us know.

File

Platform

Description

AI

Windows, Mac

Adobe Illustrator image file

BMP

Windows

bit map image

DB

Windows

Paradox database

DOC

Windows, Mac

MS Word document

DOT

Windows, Mac

MS Word template

DVI

Unix, PC-DOS

low-level format

EPS

Unix, Windows, Mac

Encapsulated Postscript file

EXE

Windows, Mac

program (or "executable") file; this can also be a self-extracting zip file

FLA

Windows, Mac

Flash movie

GIF

Unix, Windows, Mac

An image format commonly used on the web. This format is limited to 256 colors. MS Word can also "read" this image file.

HTM, HTML

Unix, Windows, Mac

HyperText Markup Language file: This is a text file that is read by web browsers (such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge)

JPG, JPEG

Unix, Windows, Mac

An image format commonly used on the web. MS Word can also "read" this image file.

MDB

Windows

MS Access database

PDF

Windows, Mac, Unix

Adobe Acrobat file

PICT

Mac

image file

PNG

Unix, Windows, Mac

This is an image format used on the web but is not as common as GIF or JPG.

PPT

Windows, Mac

MS Powerpoint slide show

PSD

Windows, Mac

Adobe Photoshop document

PST

Windows, Mac

MS Outlook export file

RTF

Windows, Mac, Unix

Rich-text format: A file containing text plus some formatting; this file type is sometimes used to convert documents from one word processor to another.

TEX

Unix, PC (DOS)

Text file used for LaTeX documents

TXT

Windows, Mac, Unix

Text file (also sometimes referred to as an "ASCII" file)

VBS

Windows

Visual Basic Script: BE AWARE! Do not open an email with a .VBS attachment as that is a common way that viruses spread